We are now at:

Palm Beach Dancing
10800 North Military Trail #201,
Palm Beach Gardens, FL

• The night begins with WCS Lesson starting at 7:30pm, taught by Trish.
• Dancing starts at 8:30pm and goes to midnight.
• Water and sodas for $1 each, light snacks provided, bring something to share if you have a hankering for something special.
• SPECIAL OFFER! Bring in a guest who has never done West Coast Swing before and you AND your guest will get in for FREE!
• We do mostly West Coast Swing, with a sprinking of everything else.

LOCATION:
Palm Beach Dancing
10800 North Military Trail #201,
Palm Beach Gardens, FL

DIRECTIONS:
JUST south of PGA, on Military Trail (west of I-95), on the east side of the road, in the shopping plaza. We’re right above the Abbey Road Grill Restaurant.

18 Years of Dancing and Fun made possible due to the tremendous support over the years by YOU, the dancers, and the great Staff of volunteers who make it all possible. Thanks to everyone who has helped, attended classes, our monthly dances, our Cruises and our FloorPlay New Years Swing Vacation over the years, we’re still going strong!

   Still the friendliest dance Club anywhere, our one club rule ‘Leave your attitude at the door’, and our everlasting motto ‘Dance with everybody’ remain our signature.

   We’ve always provided snacks and drawings for passes, cd’s, lots of various prizes and even money! A pretty simple formula that’s been copied all over the state by other start-up clubs but one I like to think we do better than the rest. We lost an affiliate club along the way while others grew stronger and a few new ones have emerged, even out of state as we hope to continue to grow. Thank YOU!

A HUGE THANKS to everyone who attended as we hit about 580 dancers over the long weekend! 423 of who have learned that it is worth it to take advantage of the fantastic Dinner Buffet included at Café’ Matisse at the Rosen on New Year’s Eve.

This year we continued with a series of Pro / Am Competitions to complement our regular WSDC Jack ‘n Jill’s and Florida State Swing Dance Championship. And this year added the Fl. Pro jack ‘n Jill Invitational Tournament that was exciting to watch and well received. It will return! There was very good participation in all and Congratulations go to Stephen White & Sabrina Paxmann as our new Florida State swing Champions in the 10^th edition of the FSSDC and all of the winners in each division.

Speaking of which, Thanks to all of the great Pro Instructors who joined us this year for a terrific New Year’s Eve show and the many workshops conducted. All were packed and heard compliments on everyone’s presentations. Robert & Nicola Royston doing a usual masterful job emceeing, Robert Cordoba & Amanda Warren, Danielle Blouin, Demery Strickland, Patti Jobst, Hugo Miguez, Trish Berlanga, Rick Weston, Sabrina Paxmann, Steven White, Bruce & Beth Perrotta, and especially nice to have Orlando’s Jen Deluca back with us again! Thank You Jen for the White Horse dance!

And be sure to get a video of all the weekends’ festivities, workshops and competitions from Bobby Caudill who got everything covered. We also had over 45 couples learn and participate in the “My Baby” Swing Shift Mixer as part of the NYE Show. Well done!

But no event can be successful without two all important things, a good dance floor and a GREAT sound system with fabulous music! The dance floors were smoothly provided by Cherry Taylor and Master Dance Floors of Tampa. The sound system provided by Orlando’s Kevin McDeed who also provided some cool lighting and video for the Midnight Champagne toast. Kevin ‘KMac’, also set the tone as always with a terrific variety of music to keep everyone moving. He continues to be the ‘soul’ of the FloorPlay Dance Club events and dances. Also playing terrific music all weekend were Robert Cordoba, Earl Yeomans, Bobby Caudill, Trish Berlanga and Desi Damaso. Great Thanks to all the DJ’s for keeping the dance floor hopping all weekend.

Special Thanks to Demery Strickland, Rick Weston and Beverly Co for all of the coordination and control of competition sign-up, as well as supplying results so quickly.  It’s a lot of work and your diligence and professionalism were much appreciated.

Full Competition Results have already been posted on the website and the Facebook page.

 As always, there are MANY on any event staff who make it all work. Without them it simply doesn’t happen. I like to think we have the best staff anywhere. These are the folks who initially greet you, sign you in, answer your questions, handle security, keep things organized in all aspects of presentation and make everyone feel welcome…all with a smile! Ed Sullivan & Nora Batts lead Security and recruit ample ‘friendly’ help including Janie Morningstar and Irene Gomulka. Registration is very involved and Amy Palmer was the key to making it all happen again and running smoothly. She did so much behind the scenes it would be too hard to describe. Helping out tremendously were Meggan and Marilyn Thomas, Elaine Sipe, Annie Mariani, Sandy Sanborn, Maryanne Lang, Cindy Winternitz, Linda Murphy, Jutta Baerman and I’m sure a few others I’m sorry I can’t remember, as well as those Club members and friends who donated a couple hours of their time.  And, last but not least there are those who contribute in a WIDE variety of ways without who’s help there would be noticeable deficiencies in organization. Diane Scott, Bill Bray and Maria Hardy are these people along with Danielle Blouin and Mike Oates who graciously provided the Pro /Am Awards. Thanks too to CJ Henry whom devotes much time and energy pairing people up as roommates as well as keeping the State dancers informed as to all of the WCS communities dances/events etc. happening throughout the year.

 And a special Thanks to Robin DiMeo who aside from working hard at the event, manages our website and Facebook page all year long. Needless to say she makes my life easier all year long! I sincerely thank you all for your tremendous efforts and to those who helped I may have unfortunately omitted here.

 A final HUGE THANK YOU to all of you who attended this year. Always a great crowd who make it such a terrific atmosphere and make our FloorPlay Swing Vacation the BEST place to party on New Year’s Eve! You ALL ROCK!

We will continue to do our best to bring you the Best New Year’s Party possible and hope you will plan to join us again for Swing Vacation 2013 – ’14. Also look for details on a planned 5^th SeaPlay Cruise coming in Spring of 2014.

Sincerely,

Mark Traynor
FloorPlay Club Founder

·         ALERT! – Make Rosen Plaza Reservations NOW! My room block has been released to the general public and if not already, the Rosen will be sold out quickly. I have 4 rooms left on hold at our reduced rate and if you still need one please contact me so that I can transfer a room to you. The first 6 to call get them. The reduced rate is available to all of our Event patrons from 12/ 26 – 1/5/13.

·       Even if you’re not positive you can make it, book now and you can cancel up to 5 days before without penalty, Secure your room!

·       Updated schedule can be seen at our website – www.floorplayswing.com

·       All competitions are signed up for upon arrival at registration. They start Saturday afternoon 12/29 so don’t be late!

·       Looking for a roommate to reduce your costs? Send an email to CJ Henry (our Roommate Coordinator) at cjhdancer@gmail.com, with “FloorPlay Roommate Request” in the subject line and she will do her best to fulfill your needs.

“BRINGING FLORIDA TOGETHER” For 13 Years

At Florida’s longest running WCS Event!

   FloorPlay™ New Years Swing Vacation 2012 – ’13!

Dec. 28, 2012 – Jan. 1, 2013

at the Beautiful Rosen Plaza Hotel

9700 International Dr., Orlando, Fl.

Call – 407-996-9700 or 800-627-8258 for reservations

Mention FloorPlay Swing Vacation for special $110. Rate, sleep 4

The Best New Years Party in the ‘Best Vacation Location in the Nation’!

Hosted by Emcee ROBERT ROYSTON w/ NICOLA

A Very Special New Years Eve Pro Show

To commemorate the:

10th Anniversary of the Florida State Swing Dance Championship

* WSDC sanctioned Jack n’ Jills on 4 levels

Special – Anniversary Invitational Fl. Pro Jack ‘n Jill

Cash prizes and Trophies awarded on each level.

** Pro-Am Competitions!

Plus – Pro /Am Jack ’n Jill!

AND – A Special Anniversary Invitational Fl. Pro Jack ‘n Jill                   

Demery Strickland-Danielle Blouin-Rick Weston-Brianne Cline-Hugo Miguez-Sabrina Paxmann-Shawn Swaithes-Donna Bonham-John Permar-Lisa Permar-Jerry Siebe-Michelle Siebe-Bruce Perrotta-Beth Perrotta-Justin Wolcott-Trish Berlanga-Stephen White-Dawn Sgarlata-Christopher Lo-Cindy lee Overton-John Harris-Mary Jane Harris-Tommy Gibbs-Renee Lipmann-Keith Little-Margaret Little-Jimmy Formelio-Cindy Formelio-Drew Sinclair-Elisa Defoe-Louis Schreiber-Amanda Warren…all Florida VIP Pros!

ALL  15+ Workshops – Included!

*4 Day+ All Access Pass to Dance, Comp’s., and Shows
*Opening Dance Friday night Included!
*Our Fabulous New Years Eve Dinner in Café Matisse - Included!
*New Years Pro Show – Included!
*Sunday Pizza Party – Included!
*Midnight Champagne Toast & Party favors – Included!
*The Floorplay Original Dance Forum – Included!

ALL included with the full event pass for only $135.!

  Plus – FREE HOTEL PARKING !!! – No surprise $15. – $20 a day to park!

Absolutely the Best Swing Event Value anywhere!

Pro Staff includes so far:

Emcee - Robert Royston   Nicola Royston

Jen Deluca • Robert Cordoba • Amanda Warren • Danielle Blouin • Demery Strickland • Shawn Swaithes • Donna Bonham • Patty Jobst • Hugo Miguez • Sabrina Paxmann • Stephen White • Trish Berlanga • Rick Weston • Bruce & Beth Perrotta

Plus: All of the previous FSSDC Champions and many Top Florida Pros!

DJ’s

K-Mac (Kevin McDeed) • Bobby Caudill • Robert Cordoba • Earl Yeomans

And our great staff always on hand to make you feel welcome and comfortable!

** Swing Shift “My Baby” routine for the New Years Show now on floorplayswing.com website and Facebook FloorPlay page. Start watching and practicing your part if you’d like to be part of the New Years Eve show! But learn the moves anyway for your own use.

There will also be a 1hr. workshop at the event to practice for the NYE show.

Click on the links below or copy and paste to browser to see:

http://floorplayswing.com/the-floorplay-swing-shift/ 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Floorplay-Swing-Dance-Clubs/263416473695014 

contact:

Mark Traynor – FNYSV Director

Registration form, event schedule & info at www.floorplayswing.com

Event Hotline: 407-973-9674

Proud member of the World Swing Dance Council and National FastDance Association

Back in mid-2010 I began developing a system of teaching group lessons I felt would help Instructors everywhere make lessons and workshops more fun and efficient. Although our first “shift’ was fun to do, the transitions needed to be smoother and step/pattern options less restrictive. After careful study, experimentation and ‘fine tuning, I now believe this concept will be beneficial to and fun for Instructors/Students and WCS dance communities everywhere.

In essence it’s kind of a hybrid Flash mob, line dance (as couples) and/or mixer. But “Swing Shift” is designed first and foremost as a teaching tool for group classes on any level. Whether the concept is used strictly as a teaching tool or as a mixer or as a way to teach groups a routine for possible exhibitions or as a “flash mob” is up to each individual Instructor.

By contrast though, while the Flash Mob routine was a lot of fun to do, most of the patterns weren’t socially lead-able. The steps and patterns for Swing Shift, since the idea is in fact to be teaching things that are lead-able and acceptable as extended play, should all be usable in any WC with any partner to any song.

Generally speaking, the idea is to put either a 32 or 64 beat instruction program together for a series of steps or patterns. A one hour workshop would be best to stay with just 32 beats (depending on the level of dancers being taught) to avoid ‘cramming’ too much material into too short a time.

Obviously this method isn’t necessary if simply showing a standard pattern they could use anywhere. However, by ‘phrasing’ the moves the student will still benefit by learning how the pattern fits within the song construction and help them be more aware of musicality benefits.

As for the music with the ‘Swing Shift’, we know with Line Dancers their teachers put together a specific line dance for a certain song. Swing Shift offers the same option. Perhaps in time (again like line dances) and with the help of the internet the Shift routines taught in LA for example would be picked up by others everywhere and you could attend events in any area who have WCS dancers, ALL knowing many of the same routines! Then the options of “Event mixers” or simply having dance couples be able to join individually could become commonplace and nothing but positive for the future growth of WCS.  Even small groups, in any area where the local dancers may hang out, could learn a Shift mixer and simply start with 3 or 4 couples to ANY song they decide may work well, welcoming any others who wish to join the circle and again attracting other dancers to get involved.

What about Musicality? This is perhaps the best benefit to the student learning steps by the Swing Shift method. Musicality classes are taught by many Instructors in many ways across the country. Many are very helpful and teach students the ‘construction’ of music essential to understanding how, where and why we use ‘play’ to hit breaks, accentuate a note (or series of) or voice inflection, dramatize a line, end a measure or phrase and how they can be spontaneously implemented at any time.

This is exactly what we try to accomplish with the Shift method. In essence we choreograph the moves being taught to a particular piece of music so that the students actually get to feel and hear the reason they do them at any given moment. Yes, it requires more diligence to detail by the Instructor (which can only improve their own teaching techniques) but the payoff to both teacher and students will be beneficial to both.

So instead of just teaching a workshop that may cover some cool move, pattern, styling, syncopation or play randomly and left to the students to figure out where they might work, this method lets them actually “feel” it because the Instructor did the choreography. How beneficial is that!?

As many more variations of the Shift and/or mixer are designed by Instructors everywhere over time, it could also become more intricate, interesting and fun as the ‘leader’ of an areas group could make ‘calls’ to integrate a new 32 or 64 beat Shift patterns. Very similar to the concept behind Salsa Casino, the variety of introduced ‘phrases’ would keep it interesting and exciting. Imagine the possibilities! And also imagine this happening in clubs all over the country where all the other club patrons see it happening and wanting to get involved. I think WCS classes, and therefore dances and events everywhere would experience a surge in popularity among the general public that is long overdue yet has eluded WCS for much too long!

After intensive study on the ‘Swing Shift” idea, I’ve now designed a new Teaching System I believe will be a terrific way forward to learn this great Dance form in a group lesson or workshop format.  I’m hoping and expecting that as this method proceeds it will accelerate the WCS learning process. I had used my previous system for the past 17 years with great success, constantly upgrading as new elements and theories were added over the years. THIS new concept however, I think will be an upgrade over anything currently being used in group lessons or workshops for the following reasons, and I probably haven’t thought of them all.

• All steps and patterns taught are good to use as partners without using as a mixer
• Helps dancers remember steps better thru levels by number and/or ‘theme’ recognition
• Shorter sessions to ‘target’ needs’
• Each Levels elements won’t have so much information crammed together
• Clearer understanding of the techniques covered
• Allows more changing of partners in class without stopping (if using as a mixer).
• Solidifies better execution thru more repetition during practice
• Promotes slot control and distancing
• Step pattern transitions get practiced more
• Leaders get accustomed to using basics between moves
• Reduces cramming moves into the dance
• Followers can concentrate more on their own ‘look’
• If short on leaders, followers will have a partner only 32 or 64 beats later (as a mixer) and, by doing the moves by themselves helps control and again better memory of material
• Adds more FUN to learning
• Allows partners to integrate ‘styles’ independently without disrupting the pattern or phrasing
• Will help tremendously in learning ‘musicality’ as all (if possible) elements are naturally ‘phrased’
• Still allows for and requires proper teaching technique so as not to detract from the essence of WCS
• Will help Leaders and followers more quickly recognize ‘play’ opportunities and musicality and use them
• Changing partners if taught as a mixer not necessary – Just let couples do a whip to account for Shift step

Instructors – Try it once and I think you’ll find as I have that students really like the concept, have more fun and you can add new “mixers” or “flash mob” routines to your group while at the same time teaching them lots of great moves in your regular classes! Even a single workshop can be designed this way.

Hope you can join us for a night of great dancing and socializing for our Valentines Dance at the Ballroom. It’s a terrific venue, dance floor and atmosphere. We will have a ‘mixer dance during the evening and try to wear something GREEN. We’ll supply some snacks and as is our FloorPlay custom everywhere, anyone wishing to bring a dish or dessert to share is certainly more than welcome.

Mark & Beth Nelson will be teaching the WCS Workshop before the dance beginning at 7:30

We will be giving away 2 passes to the dance and workshops by Demery Strickland coming up the first Saturday in May during our raffle..

Sat. March 10th
Workshop at 7:30pm
Dance immediately following till ?
$10. Includes workshop, dance, PIZZA, snacks, soft drinks and drawing for prizes.

Directions:
From Orlando take I4 East to I95 north…about 1 ½ miles to LPGA Blvd. exit…go east (right) approx: 2 miles to 4th light, Nova Rd…turn left (north) and go about 3 miles to the Renaissance Professional Center on the right.
( Also applies to Melbourne from I95 )

From Jacksonville I95 South to Ormond Bch. Rt.40 exit. Go east about 2 ½ miles to Nova Rd. (RT5)…turn right (south) about 1 mile to the Renaissance Professional Center on the left.

THANKS! For your support
Mark Traynor
Floorplay Dance Club
www.floorplayswing.com
407-973-9674